Can a bag of water keep flies away?

A friend on mine posted this idea on Facebook and I wondered if anyone here had tried this. I read the theory about light refraction disorienting the
flies, causing them to fly away and I guess that makes sense, but does it actually work? Science says no, but people still swear by it. If there is
one thing on the planet I can't stand, it's flies. I will spend 30 minutes hunting down one. Knocking lamps across the room and generally
spreading destruction on my quest to Kill The Fly. Ive been an underground miner and a welder, so a sandwich with some dirt on it doesn't
bother me. But, something crawling on it that just came from a pile of dog poop or a dead possum is my limit.

In theory, refraction can be just as confusing for some species of insect, especially the housefly. It boasts a highly sensitive array of eyes which
allow it to see in multiple directions at once. The insect's head mostly consists of a pair of large complex eyes, each of which is composed of
3,000 to 6,000 simple eyes. These eyes can't move or focus on objects like human eyes, but they provide the fly with a mosaic view of the world
around them. Each simple eye provides one small piece of the puzzle, much like the way a screen's pixel delivers one detail of the larger picture. A
housefly bases its sense of direction on the direction sunlight comes from. Some entomologists believe that when these complex, sensitive eyes
experience refracted light, the insect becomes confused and flies away.

If all the factors are not taken into account, hanging water bags used to repel flies may seem to work due to the placebo effect. In medical terms,
this is when people who think they're being treated for a condition feel better, even if that treatment treats nothing at all. The same effect could
occur for people who think they are treating a pest problem. But what if the situation is even worse? What if the placebo actually increases the
problem being treated? When Mike Stringham, professor of entomology at North Carolina State University, investigated the use of clear plastic water
bags as a fly deterrent, he encountered just such a situation. Stringham conducted a 13-week field trial by installing commercial, water-based
optical fly repellants on two egg farms. Stringham measured the fly activity based on the spots of regurgitated material the flies left after feeding.
He concluded that areas equipped with water bags actually experienced higher levels of housefly activity.

Although

However, the study was not conducted under natural lighting conditions. Its purpose was to determine whether the water bags could be used to decrease
fly populations on egg farms. The study didn't explore the possibility that direct sunlight increased the water bags' efficiency.

You don't always have to be on swatter duty in order to get rid of flies. Whether the pests are bringing your picnic down or calling your living room
home, I tested 10 ways to deter flies using stuff we all have in our homes. And I promise, you won't have to squash anything (unless you want to, of
course).

I know how you feel though! i live smack bang in the middle of the countryside and at the moment we have scorching temperatures meaning that the flies
just barge through the front door as soon as it is opened seeking the cool air.

Basil plants seem to work a little but i am going to try the water in a bag thing and see if works or not!

On more of a serious note however here is something that my mother in-law passed down to us and works quite well. (she has chickens so gets a lot of
flies)

There is a toadstool called the Amanita muscaria, you know the one that you see in fairy tales that is red with white spots on it?

Its common name is Fly Agaric or Fly Amanita and the toadstool is extremely toxic to flies and potentially dangerous to humans.

At the back end of August through until end of October this toadstool grows in the humid pine forests around the area where we live and my mother
in-law normally picks about 15 to 20 of these (of course wearing disposable gloves and separating from other mushrooms to avoid cross
contamination).

Once they have been picked she hashes them up and adds 5 hashed up boiled egg yellows (not the whites) and a couple of tablespoons of sugar and then
lets everything go completely dry before storing in an airtight container for future yearly use.

During the summer time she shakes a little of this mixture onto a plate and places it outside on the kitchen windowsill (with window closed of
course!)

All types of flies are attracted to this mixture (common house flies, bluebottles etc...)...

Result being that the flies will land on this concoction and die shortly afterwards (it can also be placed in the inside of the house but of course
away from little hands and foodstuffs)

Wife had done this out by the chicken coop, the bag is filled with water and a penny, the way she explained it to me is the flies think its a bigger
bug and leave the area. Have not seen many flies around by the misquote are terrible.

I have to be very careful what I sit out as insect repellent. I have 3 dogs that are very curious and will taste of, if not outright eat, just about
anything they find that even remotely resembles food. This might be worth a try, I could hang it from the trees. Them being Great Pyrenees, they can
reach pretty high.

I have to be very careful what I sit out as insect repellent. I have 3 dogs that are very curious and will taste of, if not outright eat, just about
anything they find that even remotely resembles food. This might be worth a try, I could hang it from the trees. Them being Great Pyrenees, they can
reach pretty high.

I would suggest hanging it as high as possible if you don't want 3 extremely stoned dogs staggering all over the place!

I saw this bag of pennies idea too, and figured it was worth a try. It seems similar to a concept that we use to keep birds out of the veggies. We
hang strings of old CD's above the garden. When the sun hits them, they reflect bright, psychedelic, multicolor flashes of light, which somehow repel
the birds. I don't know if they are startled, confused, or if they just hate the disco scene, but it works well and is quite pleasing to gaze upon.

Lavender oil will repel flies. This works. You can add it to some distilled water and spray yourself, you can add it to a carrier oil such as almond
oil or olive oil and rub yourself down, or you can simply set out a dish of lavender oil. Doesn't even have to be much.

I am one of the people that has to swear by it. We bbq a lot in my yard during the summer and after reading about the little trick we decided to try
it. I now have all my friends doing it as well.

The thing is though, we put at least like 10 cents worth of pennies in the bag and we lay them on the table where the food is making sure that it is
in the sun so that it Can reflect the sunlight. We also use a couple bags.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.